Shipboard boom and rigging



May 3, 1966 v. H. 'rREvlsAN 3,249,234

SHIPBOARD BOOM AND RIGGING Filed March 17, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 37 f 373f 38 l 32 32 33 3g A Man May'3, 1966 v. H. TREvlsAN SHIPBOARD BOOM ANDRIGGING 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1964 May 3, 1966 v. H. TREVISAN3,249,234

SHIPBOARD BOOM AND RIGGING DOWN DOWN ,7

HEAVY BURTON LIFT @58 LIGHT LIFT BOOM up E

` DOWN DOWN DOWN LUFF LUFF OUTBDI f2 i INBD UP F E :NBD Boom OUTBD nNVEN'TOR. 2X7 6. l//a ml//fA/I/ May 3, 1966 v. H. 'rREvlsAN SHIPBOARDBOOM AND RIGGING 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 1'7, 1964 ffii@ A. 7C 'WQUnited States Patent O 3,249,234 SHIPBOARD BOOM AND RIGGING Virgil H.Trevisan, 825 Lincoln Ave., Pitman, NJ. Filed Mar. 17, 1964, Ser. No.352,560 3 Claims. (Cl. 212-3) This invention relates to cargotransferral and concerns particularly a system for transferring a loadfrom a first rest location to a nearby rest location by means ofswinging booms, as in the loading and unloading of a ship, for instance.

In my U.S. Pat. 3,057,484 there is disclosed a cargotransferring systemwherein a boom is fully controlled, i.e., swung in azimuth and/ orraised o1- lowered, by changing the effective length of either or bothof two indemay not be justified in the instance of relatively lightitems of cargo.

A primary object of the present invention is adaptation or modificationof my aforementioned cargo-transferring system for ready conversion fromhandling heavy loads to handling light loads and vice versa.

Another object is provision of a cargo-transferring system readilyadapted to burtoning' relatively light loads, i.e., moving themlaterally (and otherwise) by changing the lengths of supporting cablesor cargo lifts attached thereto rather than swinging a boom, while alsobeing suited to handling relatively heavy loads by swinging a supportingboom.

A further object is provision of a cargo-transferring system withimproved drive and control means for boomsupported cargo lifts andboom-controlling topping lifts.

Yet another object is provision of a cargo-transferring system with anovel universal mounting for a swinging boom.

Other objects of the present invention, together with means and methodsfor attaining the various objects, will be apparent from the followingdescription and the accompanying diagrams. v

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cargo-transferring system of thisinvention rigged for handling a heavy load and shownA at an early stagein unloading;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same system so rigged but at a laterstage in unloading;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same cargo-transferring systemrigged for burtoning a relatively light load and shown at an early stagein unloading; and

FIG. 4 is a similar view of the same system rigged as in FIG. 3 but at alater stage in unloading.

FIG. 5 is a plan, somewhat schematic and partially in section, of driveand control means for use in such a cargo-transferring system accordingto this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a plan, somewhat schematic and partly in section, of a controlboard and levers for such drive and control means.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, partly cut away and in section, ofuniversal mounting for a boom step of this p invention;

FIG. 8 is a similar view of the same boom step with the mounting unitand the boom rotated in azimuth; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the apparatus of the last two views.

3,249,234 Patented May 3, 1966 In general, the objects of the presentinvention are accomplished, in a cargo-transferring system, by providinga boom universally mounted at its foot, a plurality of laterally spacedtopping lifts controlling the location of the boom head, and a pluralityof cables depending from the boom head, the topping lifts being variablein length independently of one another and the depending cables beingvariable in length independently of one another. Particular apparatusfeatures of this invention are described specitically below withreference to illustration of a preferred embodiment thereof.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show in perspective, looking aft, a cargotransferringsystem of the present invention as normally empl-oyed for transferral(e.g., unloading of relatively heavy loads. Item of cargo 11 representedin doublelayered form is slung to hook 12 aixed to lower block 13 of arst cargo fall whose cable 14 extends about upper block 15 attachedto-the head of port boom 16 (shown in an inboard position) then downalong the boom to and about lead block 17 and onto drum 18 of a winchtherefor. The showing in broken lines in FIG. 1 represents a lowerposition of the tackle and item of cargo in hatchway 10 of the hold fromwhich it was raised in unloading by winding the cable onto the winchdrum to shorten the cargo fall. The supporting boom is mounteduniversally at its foot on boom step 19 affixed to king post or mast 21,which extends vertically from deckl 20 and is located athwart a similarking post or mast 21'. Hook 22 of a second cargo fall in the form ofcable 24 depending from block 25 attached to the head of boom 16 issecured detachably to pad eye 29 mounted on king post 21, alongside(inboard) of the boom step thereon; the cable extends downward along theboom and about lead block 27 and onto winch drum 28. The boom has twotopping lifts, one inboard and one outboard, whose cables or lines 31and 36 extend from the boom head (to which they are aixed) aboutrespective lead blocks 32 and 37 on Outrigger truss 30 joining the topsof the pair of king posts, then about lead blocks 33 and 38 located nearthe junction of king post 21 and the truss, downward about lead blocks34 and 39 at the base of the king post, and finally onto winch drums(partially hidden in this view.)

To'facilitate reference, the second king post and its associatedelements in FIGS. l to 4, on the starboard side (at the viewers left ineach view) are denoted by primed reference numerals otherwise identicalwith those applied to the first king post and its associated elements(considered as mirror images thereof). Thus, in FIG. 1 boom 16 is showntopped outboard, with hook 12 on lower -block 13 of cargo fall cable 14deta-chably secured to pad eye 40' on the deck at an outboard locationgeneral-1y athwart the near edge of hatchway 1t). The king posts areflanked by pair of pad eyes 35, 35 mounted on the deck, while pair ofpad eyes 40, 40 (similarly mounted) are spaced forward of that pair.

FIG. 2 shows, also in perspective, the same apparatus shown in FIG. 1but with boom 16 (and item of cargo 11 su-pported thereby) swungoutboard and down by lengthening inboard topping lift line 31, which isdone by un- `winding it to the desired extent from its winch drum. Theadditional showing of the item of cargo and supporting tackle in lbrokenlines represents an alternative position occupied at an even later stagein unloading, as the item of cargo is lowered to the wharf or a smallervessel.

FIGS. 3 and 4, which represent the same apparatus in perspective, showthe use of boom 16 as well as boom 16 (both stationary) and theassociated tackle in burtoning an item of cargo that is sufficientlylight to be so handled.

In FIG. 3 boom 16 has been swung inboard (and downward) over hatchway10, as by lengthening outboard topping lift Iline 36. Also lengthenedaccordingly was cable 14 of the heavy cargo fall, which is secured tothe deck as previously indicated. Boom 16 is in much the same outboardposition as in FIG. 2, and cable 14 of its heavy cargo fall is shownsecured similarly to pad eye 35 on the deck. Light cargo fall cables 24and 24 (both shown as single lengths) depending from their respectivebooms are interconnected at their ends by the ring of cargo hook 26. Thecargo hook engages a sling about item of cargo 11a, which is shown insingle-layered form half the size of ite-m 11 previously shown. Thelower position shown in broken lines illustrates the narrower angle fthe vcargo fall cables when the supported item of cargo was in thehatchway, from which it was raised by shortening both supporting cables.

FIG. 4 is like FIG. 3 except that the supported item of cargo has beenburtoned to an outboard position by simultaneously lengthening cable 24and shortening cable 24 to like extent. A lower position to which theitem of cargo is lowered Iby lengthening both supporting cables appearsin broken lines. The securing of the heavy cargo fall cables by means oftheir hooks to pad eyes on'the deck, although not essential, `isadvantageous in that it enables them to function as preventers to assistthe topping lifts in maintaining the fixed boom positions;

alternatively, if such preventer function is not desired,

either orboth of them may be secured to a pad eye near the associatedboom step, as the light cargo fall cable of boom 16 was in FIGS. 1 and2.

In any event the system may be converted readily, as indicated-to andfrom use of a swinging single boom, which is useful for relatively heavyitems of cargo, to .burtoning' with both booms xed in position, as ispreferred for lighter items of cargo. The winch drums for the variouscables or lines may be driven conventionally by individua-l motors, asis common, but it is preferred to drive them from a single motor asdescribed below.

FIG. 5 shows in plan the preferred drive and control means for the cargofall cables and topping lift lines associated with the boom (not shownin this view) mounted on king post 21 (shown in section). Visible inaddition to winch drums 18 and 28 for heavy and light cargo fall cables14 and 2X4, respectively, are smaller winch drums 41 and 46 (previouslypartially hidden) for respective topping lift lines 31 and 36. Alsoshown and enumerated are drive motor 4S and transmission cases orgearboxe's 42 and 48 located between the pair of topping lift winchdrurns and the pair of cargo fall winch drums, respectively. Forsimplicity of the showing the king post is shown closely adjacentgearbox 42, with consequent exaggeration of the angles at which thevarious cables and lines r'un to their respective winch drums; actuallythe kingv post is located further therefrom, and the cables land linesrun nearly fore and aff rather than at the illustratedangles ofdeviation therefrom. Each winch drum has a shaft connecting it to thetransmissions, and each transmission is connected to the lmotor by adrive shaft.`

The transmissions may be of conventional or other suitable type and areconnected in appropriate manner to and are engageable with anddisengageable from the drive motor by control means as shown in the nextview.

FIG. 6 shows, in plan, control panel 51 for the boom mounted on kingpost 21 on the port side and designated as NO. Z BOOM. The control panelis preferably located behind-(aft in this instance) of the winch drums,between them and the king post on which the boom controlled thereby ismounted. Shown sectioned are control levers 52 and 58 for transmissions42 and 43, respectively. Lever 58, which controls the :cargo fall cablesis mounted for movement in an H pattern, the cross-bar of the H being adeclutched or neutral position, i.e., both win-ch drums 18 and 28disengaged. The forward positions of the lever (at the top of either armof the H) are marked DOWN, and the rear positions (at the arm bottoms)are marked UP, to indicate thev movement of the cargo fall hook (and anyattached item of cargo) when the lever is in such positions. In the leftarm `of the H the lever controls HEAVY LIFT cable 14, and in the rightarm LIGHT LIFT -cable 24 also marked BURTON in view of itsuse forburtoning. Actual control of the transmissions `by the respective leversis by means of conventional clutches and connecting linkage (not Shown)The operating pattern of lever 52 for the topping lift lines is somewhatmore complex but as readiiy understandable as that for lever 58. Asbefore, the cross-bar position is neutral, but thereare three parallelarms intersecting the cross-bar at right angles instead of only two, andthe cross-bar extends a short way past the extreme arms. The rightmostextreme position of the lever is marked LUFF INBD', and the leftmostextreme position LUFF OUTBD, to denote that the boom will be luffed`inboard or outboard as the case may be whenthe lever is so positioned.In either luiiing position winchdrums 41 and 46 are rotated together inopposite directions, to lengthen and shorten the two topping liftv linessimultaneously and to like extent. The -centermost arm is marked DOWNBOOM at its forward end and UP vBOOM at its rear end; in either of thesepositions of t'he control lever b'oth winch drums 41 and46 arerotatedftogether in the same direction to lengthen or shorten bothtopping lift lines simultaneously andto like extent.

The `rig-ht side of the lower portion of the control panel in FIG. 6 ismarked LOAD, and the left side UNLOAD- to indicate that the right andleft arms of the pattern are useful accordingly when the boom is swung.Thus,- in loading, the boom will begin at a 'relatively high -outboardposition, with the lever -at the rear of the rig-htrnost arm, marked UPOUTBD.v Then movement of the lever straight forward to the positionmarked DOWN INBD will rotate winch drum 41 only to lengthen outboardtopping lift line 31 and swing the boom under its own weight and thatofwhatever cargo is supported thereby' (as by `cargo fall cable 14) downand inboard over the fhatchway.. Similarly, in unloading, the cont-rollever is moved in the leftmostarm, from the rear position marked UP INBDnto the forward position marked DOWN OUTBD.

The benefits of such simplified drive and control means will be apparentfrom the fact that in conventional practice more than one drive motorand more than one winch operator (usually several of each) are required.The conventional practice is not only more expensive but presents theproblem of lack of coordination, which may result in overstressing andpossibly breaking the tackle or damaging the loadpossibilities that thisinvention minimiz'e's or eliminates.

Movement 4of they boom is facilitated according to this invention byproviding a universal mounting therefor, the foot of the bo'om beingrounded, including a socket member adapted to receive and retain therounded foot of the boom rotatably therein, and a boom step adapted tosupport the socket member for pivoting azimuthally. In particular, wherethe rounded foot of the 'boom is substantially spherical or ball-shaped,the socket member has a substantially hemispherical opening therein toreceive it for universal rotation and has detachable ring means securingthe boom therein; the socket member has a vertical pin extending fromthe bottom thereof, Iand the boom step has a vertical bore into whichthe pin fits for pivotal rotation. These featuresk are shown in FIGS. 7to 9, inclusive.

FIG. 7 shows, head-on, boom step 19 aixed to and extending forward fromking post 21 (only part of the vertical extent thereof being shown).Part of the boom step is sectionedy away to show vertical bore 69therein. Socket member 71 has a wedge-shaped body with inclined face 72.Vertical pin 70 with inverted shoulder 68 eX- tends downward from thebase of the-.body into recess 67 and concentric bore 69 of the boomstep, permitting the member to rotate thereon, with the end of the pinthreaded yand carrying retaining nut 30 and washer 79. FIG. 8 shows theboom step head-on as in FIG. 7 but with the socket member rotated aboutforty-live degrees in azimuth with regard thereto (counterclockwise asViewed from above).

Boom 16 (only the lower part of which is shown in these views) has loweranged portion 76 (partially hidden in FIGS. 7 and 8) interconnected tospherical foot or ball 78 by narrow interconnecting portion 77. FIG. 9shows the foot of the boom, the mount therefor, and the boom stepseparated therefrom in an exploded view. Split rings 74a, 74b, whoseunder surface (not shown) preferably is concave in the vicinity of theinner edge to fit against the upper surface of ball 78, are retainedabo-ut interconnecting portion 77 of the boom against inclined face 72of the mount by bolts `or screws 75. Socket 73 yin 4the inclined face ofthe socket member receives the boom foot for universal rotation therein.When the boom swings sufciently in azimuth so that the interconnectingportion engages the inner edge of either split ring,

the entire mount rotates azimuthally to whatever extent -is required. Ofcourse, the ring opening is large enough (and the encircledinterconnecting portion of the boom small enough) to permit the boom tobe raised vertically and lowered through ninety degrees or somewhat morewithout engaging the split rings. Each split ring curves throughsomewhat less than a half circle so that when assembled with their endstouching `along -a line bisecting the -upper half of inclined face 72 ofwedge-shaped member 71 their opposite ends are spaced apart suicientlyto receive narrow interconnecting portion 77 of the boom foot andthereby lfacilitate locating the head o-f the boom somewhat lower thanthe foot. The advantage of such mounting over conventional goosenecks orthe like, which restrict the free movement o-f the boom, with consequentpossibility of breaking, yare apparent.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustratedand described, various m'odications may be made therein, such as adding,selecting, combining, or subdviding component parts or changing theorientation, size, or sha-pe thereof, without losing the advantages ofor departing from the invention as dened in the `following claims.

The claimed invention:

1. In a cargo-transferring system, a boom universally mounted at itsfoot, a plurality of laterally spaced topping lifts controlling thelocation of the boom head, and a plurality of cables depending from theboom head, the topping lifts lbeing variable in length independently ofone another and the depending cables being variable in lengthindependently of one another, lone of the depending cables beingdetachably attached at given length to a pad at a xed location closelyadjacent the foot of the boom.

2. The cargo-transferring system of claim 1 including a second boomlocated athwart the first boom and having a cable depending from thehead thereof, and wherein the detachably yattached cableof the iirstboom is also attachable at its depending end to the depending end of thecable on the second -boom for -burtoning a load supported from themutually attached cables.

3. The cargo-transferring system of claim 2 wherein the other cabledepending from the head of the rst lhoorn is detachably attachable at afixed location athwart the booms and on the opposite side of the firstboom from the side where the second boom is located and including meansfor securing the depending end of that other cable at that Xed location.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,254,083 8/1941Nichles et al 212-38 2,354,182 7/ 1944 Christofferson 212-3 2,559,8327/,1951 Slater 212-3 3,057,484 10/1'962 Trevisan 212-3 y3,090,493 5/1963 Landtman 212-3 3,095,976 7/ 1963 Langfeldt 212-3 3,098,569- 7/1963Farrell 212-3 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, SAMUEL F. COLEMAN,

' Examiners.

A. L. LEVINE, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A CARGO-TRANSFERRING SYSTEM, A BOOM UNIVERSALLY MOUNTED AT ITSFOOT, A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED TOPPING LIFTS CONTROLLING THELOCATION OF THE BOOM HEAD, AND A PLURALITY OF CABLES DEPENDING FROM THEBOOM HEAD, THE TOPPING LIFTS BEING VARIABLE IN LENGTH INDEPENDENTLY OFONE ANOTHER AND THE DEPENDING CABLES BEING VARIABLE IN LENGTHINDEPENDENTLY OF ONE ANOTHER, ONE OF THE DEPENDING CABLES BEINGDETACHABLY ATTACHED AT GIVEN LENGTH TO A PAD AT A FIXED LOCATION CLOSELYADJACENT THE FOOT OF THE BOOM.